Light emitting device including plural barriers

ABSTRACT

When a light emitting element is actuated to allow the light emission, the generation of Joule heat occurs, leading to the decomposition or crystallization of an organic compound to cause the degradation of the light emitting device. Therefore, a light emitting element of the present invention is provided for effecting removing or decreasing the generation of heat. In the present invention, between two electrodes, layers having organic compounds and carbon-based thin films are alternatively laminated one after another for stepping down the driving voltage in the light emitting element using the tunnel effect. In addition, a carbon-based thin film is placed on a film containing an organic compound, so that it prevents the electric filed from being locally concentrated and also prevents the generation of short-circuit between the anode and the cathode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a light emitting apparatus using alight emitting element emitting fluorescence or phosphorescence byapplying an electric field to an element having a film including anorganic compound (hereinafter, described as “organic compound layer”)between a pair of electrodes, and to a method of fabricating the lightemitting apparatus. Further, a light emitting apparatus in thespecification includes an image display device, a light emitting deviceor a light source (including illuminating device). Further, a lightemitting apparatus includes all of a module of a light emittingapparatus attached with a connector, for example, FPC (Flexible PrintedCircuit) or TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) tape or TCP (Tape CarrierPackage), a module provided with a printed wiring board at a front endof TAB tape or TCP and a module in which a light emitting element isdirectly mounted with IC (Integrated Circuit) by COG (Chip On Glass)system.

2. Description of the Related Art

There is expected application of a light emitting element using anorganic compound characterized in thin shape, light weight, highresponse and direct current voltage drive as a light emitting body to aflat panel display of next generation. Particularly, a display apparatusarranged with light emitting elements in a matrix-like shape seems to besuperior to a liquid crystal display apparatus of a related art in viewof wide viewing angle and excellence in optical recognizing performance.

According to the light emitting mechanism of a light emitting element,it is said that by interposing an organic compound layer between a pairof electrodes and applying voltage, an electron injected from a cathodeand a hole injected from an anode are recombined at a center of lightemission in the organic compound layer to form molecular exciton andwhen the molecular exciton returns to the ground state, energy isdischarged to emit light. There are known singlet excitation and tripletexcitation in an excited state and it seems that light can be emitted byway of either of the excited states.

It is possible to use driving methods of passive matrix drive (simplematrix type) and active matrix drive (active matrix type) for such alight emitting apparatus formed by arranging light emitting elements ina matrix-like shape. However, when a pixel density is increased, theactive matrix type provided with a switch for each pixel (or dot) isadvantageous since the active matrix type can be driven at low voltage.

Further, although a low molecular species material and a high molecularspecies (polymer species) material are respectively researched for anthe organic compound for constituting the organic compound layer(strictly speaking, light emitting layer) regarded to be the core of alight emitting element, more attention is given to the high molecularspecies material facilitated to handle and having high heat resistancethan the low molecular species material.

Further, although there are known methods such as vapor depositionmethod, spin coating method and ink jet method for a film forming methodof the organic compounds, as a method for realizing full color formationby using the high molecular species material, spin coating method andink jet method are particularly well known.

The light emitting elements having the organic compounds has a defectthat is easy to be deteriorated by various factors, therefore it is amaximum object of the light emitting elements to be formed with highreliability (long lifetime).

Here, in a light emitting element using an organic compound, we willconsider the pathway in which an electron and a hole injected from anelectrode are converted to photon and finally brought out to the outsideof the element. Among the currents passing through an external circuit,only some fractions thereof contribute to the carrier combination aselectron-hole pairs and part of the recombined electron-hole pairs isconsumed in the generation of luminescent molecular excitons. Thegenerated excitons are converted to photon as much as being defined byfluorescent quantum efficiency. The remainder thereof is deactivated invarious pathways, for example thermal deactivation and the generation ofinfrared light. Therefore, when such a light emitting element isactuated to allow the light emission, the generation of Joule heatoccurs, leading to the decomposition or crystallization of an organiccompound to cause the degradation of the light emitting element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lightemitting element having an organic compound in which heat generation canbe effectively removed or decreased.

The light emitting element of the present invention has a plurality oflayers containing different organic compounds. A carbon-based thin filmis formed between the adjacent layers to effectively remove or reducethe heat generated at the time of actuation.

In the present invention, the thickness of the carbon-based is verythin, for example about 2 nm, to allow an electron to pass through thecarbon-based thin film (i.e., a potential barrier) by applying a minutevoltage between the electrodes. That is, the light emitting element ofthe present invention that allows the tunnel injection may be one kindof tunnel elements. There are two different types of tunnel injections.One is a Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunnel injection dominantly occurred witha large film thickness and a large electric field, and the other is adirect tunnel injection dominantly occurred with a film thickness of 3to 4 nm or less. In the present invention, between two electrodes,layers having organic compounds and carbon-based thin films arealternatively laminated one after another for stepping down the drivingvoltage in the light emitting element using the tunnel effect.

Furthermore, the film that contains the organic compound is very thin,so that the thickness thereof may become uneven when foreign particlesare mixed in the material before or at the time of the film formation.In this case, there is a possibility of causing the generation of heatas the electric field is locally concentrated. However, theconcentration of the electric field and also the generation ofshort-circuit between the anode and the cathode can be prevented byproviding a carbon-based thin film on the film containing an organiccompound. In addition, even though the film containing the organiccompound has an uneven thickness, the formation of such a carbon-basedthin film prevents the generation of heat by the locally-concentratedelectric filed and also prevents the organic film from beingdeteriorated, improving the reliability of the film containing theorganic compound.

The carbon-based organic film is functioned as a barrier between theadjacent layers to prevent the different materials of these layers frombeing mixed at the time of the film formation. Also, such a film is alsocapable of protecting each of the light emitting layers by preventingtheir materials from being mixed together under the generation of heatat the time of actuating the light emitting element.

Furthermore, the carbon-base thin film has another function ofprotecting the organic film against impurities such as water and oxygen.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-B, a first aspect of the present invention isa light emitting device comprising a plurality of light emittingelements on a substrate having an insulating surface, wherein each ofthe light emitting elements comprises: a first electrode; a first layercontaining an organic compound provided in contact with the top of thefirst electrode; a first carbon-based thin film formed on the firstlayer; a second layer containing an organic compound formed on the firstthin film; a second carbon-based thin film on the second layer; a thirdlayer containing an organic compound formed on the second thin film; athird carbon-based thin film on the third layer; a fourth layercontaining an organic compound formed on the third thin layer; a fifthorganic layer containing an organic compound formed on the fourth layer;and a second electrode provided in contact with the top of the fifthorganic layer.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-B, a second aspect of thepresent invention is a light emitting device comprising a plurality oflight emitting elements on a substrate having an insulating layer,wherein each of the light emitting elements comprises: a firstelectrode; a first layer containing an organic compound provided incontact with the top of the first electrode; a second layer containingan organic compound formed on the first layer; a first carbon-based thinfilm formed on the second layer; a third layer containing an organiccompound formed on the first thin film; a second carbon-based thin filmformed on the third layer; a fourth layer containing an organic compoundformed on the second thin film; a third carbon-based thin film formed onthe fourth layer; a fifth layer comprising the organic compound formedon the third thin film ; and a second electrode provided in contact withthe fifth layer.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-B, a third aspect of the presentinvention is a light emitting device comprising a plurality of lightemitting elements on a substrate having an insulating layer, whereineach of the light emitting elements comprises: a first electrode; afirst layer containing an organic compound provided in contact with thetop of the first electrode; a first carbon-based thin film formed on thefirst layer; a second layer containing an organic compound formed on thefirst thin film; a second carbon-based thin film formed on the secondlayer; a third layer containing an organic compound formed on the secondthin film; a third carbon-based thin film formed on the third layer; afourth layer containing an organic compound formed on the third thinfilm; a fourth carbon-based thin film formed on the fourth layer; afifth layer containing an organic compound formed on the fourth thinfilm; and a second electrode provided in contact with the fifth layer.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A-B, a fourth aspect of thepresent invention is a light emitting device comprising a plurality oflight emitting elements on a substrate having an insulating layer,wherein each of the light emitting elements comprises: a firstelectrode; a first layer containing an organic compound provided incontact with the top of the first electrode; a second layer containingan organic compound formed on the first layer; a first carbon-based thinfilm formed on the second layer; a third layer containing an organiccompound formed on the first thin film; a second carbon-based thin filmformed on the third layer; a fourth layer containing an organic compoundformed on the second thin layer; a fifth layer containing an organiccompound formed on the fourth layer; and a second electrode provided incontact with the fifth layer.

In each configuration of the above aspects of the present invention, thecarbon-based thin film may be a diamond like carbon (DLC) film or anamorphous carbon film having a film thickness of 3 to 50 nm. The DLCfilm has a sp³ hybrid bond as a C—C bond in short-distance order andalso has an amorphous structure in macroscopic order. The composition ofthe DLC film contains 70 to 95 atomic percent of carbon and 5 to 30atomic percent of hydrogen, and is very hard and is excellent ininsulating properties. In addition, the DLC film is a thin filmchemically stable and hardly changeable. Furthermore, the thermalconductivity of the DLC film is 200 to 600 W/m K, and the DLC film iscapable of releasing heat generated at the time of driving. The DLC filmis also characterized in that oxygen and hydrogen gas permeabilities aresmall. In addition, it is known that the DLC film has a hardness of 15to 25 GPa by measurement using a microhardness meter.

The DLC film may be prepared using a plasma CVD method (typically, a RFplasma CVD method, a microwave CVD method, an electron cyclotronresonance (ECR) CVD method, a hot-filament CVD method, or the like),acombustion method, a sputtering method, an ion beam deposition method, alaser deposition method, or the like. Each of these film-forming methodsallows the formation of a DLC film with a good adhesiveness. Theformation of the DLC film is performed by placing a substrate on acathode, or by applying a negative bias and utilizing ion bombardment tosome extent to obtain a closely packed and hardened film.

Reactive gases to be used for the film formation are a hydrogen gas anda hydrocarbon gas (e.g., CH₄, C₂H₂, and C₆H₆). The film formation isperformed by ionizing the reactive gas with glow discharge andbombarding ions on the cathode being subjected to negative self-bias.Consequently, a closely packed and smooth DLC film can be obtained.Furthermore, the DLC film is an insulating film which is transparent ortranslucent to visible light. In this specification, the term“transparent to visible light” means a visible light transmittance of 80to 100%, and the term “translucent to visible light” means a visiblelight transmittance of 50 to 80%.

Furthermore, in the present invention, for forming a thin filmprincipally containing carbon atoms (also referred to as a carbon-basedthin film) in contact with a film containing an organic compound, it isimportant to prevent a film containing an organic compound from beingdamaged by plasma or the like at the time of film formation.

Preferably, the method of film formation with a little damage isproperly selected from representative methods such as a microwave CVDmethod, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) CVD method, a hot-filamentCVD method, a helicon wave plasma method, and a combustion method.

For instance, the film formation is performed by introducing radicalsinto a film-forming chamber without generating radicals in thefilm-forming chamber to reduce damage to be caused by the plasma.Specifically, a μ wave is generated by a microwave generator and thegenerated μ wave of about 2.45 GHz is transmitted to a plasma dischargetube after passing through a waveguide. In the plasma discharge tube,material gas is fed from a gas feeding pipe. Subsequently, in the plasmadischarge tube, the material gas is decomposed by the radiation of microwaves to generate radicals. The radicals pass through the gas feedingpipe, followed by introducing in a film-forming chamber connectedthrough a gate valve. Consequently, the generation of radicals is notoccurred in the film-forming chamber, so that the damage to be caused byplasma can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the method of forming a carbon-based thin film, when theplasma CVD method is used, it is preferable to reduce the damage to becaused by plasma by making the frequency smaller, without limiting to afrequency (13.56 MHz) of a high frequency power source.

Furthermore, in the light emitting device, the outside light (the lightoutside from the light emitting device) incident on a pixel withoutemitting light is reflected from the back face (the surface on the sidein contact with the light emitting layer). Therefore, there is a problemthat the outside scenery is reflected on the observation surface (thesurface facing to the observer) as the back face is acted as a mirror.In addition, for avoiding such a problem, the light emitting device isdesigned such that a circularly polarized film is attached on theobservation surface of the light emitting device to prevent thereflection of outside scenery on the observation surface. However, sucha circularly polarized film is very expensive, leading to anotherproblem of increasing the manufacturing costs.

Therefore, in each aspect of the present invention, a light emittingdevice may be characterized in that the second layer containing theorganic compound, the third layer containing the organic compound, orthe fourth layer containing the organic compound is formed of a materialthat emits white light, and is combined with a color filter, or may becharacterized in that the second layer comprising the organic compound,the third layer comprising an organic compound, or the fourth layercomprising an organic compound is formed of a material that emitsmonochromatic light, and is combined of a color-changing layer or acoloring layer.

Furthermore, a light emitting element (an EL element) comprises a layercontaining an organic compound by which luminescence (electroluminescence) is generated by applying an electric field on the ELelement (hereinafter, referred to as an EL layer), an anode, and acathode. In general, the luminescence from organic compound may beluminescence (fluorescence) generated at the time of shifting from anexcited single state to a ground state or luminescence (phosphorescence)at the time of returning to a ground state from an excited tripletstate. The light emitting device to be manufactured by the presentinvention can be applied to both types of the luminescence.

Furthermore, the EL layer is provided as a laminated structure.Typically, mention may be made of a laminated structure of a holetransfer layer/a light emitting layer/an electron transport layerlaminated on an anode in that order. This structure has a high luminousefficacy, and presently it has been adapted to most of the lightemitting devices under investigated and developed.

Alternatively, the laminated layer may be designed as a structure havinga hole injection layer/a hole transfer layer/a light emitting layer/anelectron transport layer laminated on an anode in that order, or astructure of a hole injection layer/a hole transfer layer/a lightemitting layer/an electron transport layer/an electron injection layerlaminated on an anode in that order. In addition, fluorescent dye or thelike may be doped in the light emitting layer. Also, the light emittinglayer may be one having a hole transfer property or one having anelectron transfer property. Furthermore, all of these layers may beprepared using low molecular weight materials or all of them may beprepared using high molecular weight materials. In the presentspecification, all layers arranged between the cathode and the anode arecollectively referred to as layers containing organic compounds (ELlayers). Therefore, the EL layers include the hole injection layer, thehole transfer layer, the light emitting layer, the electron transportlayer, and the electron injection layer. In addition, the layercontaining the organic compound (the EL layer) may contain an inorganicmaterial such as silicon.

In the light emitting device of the present invention, a driving methodfor displaying an image on a screen is not specifically limited. Forexample, a dot sequential driving method or a line sequential drivingmethod may be used. Typically, the line sequential type is used, andalso a time division gradation driving method or an area gradationdriving method may be properly used. Furthermore, a picture signal to beentered in a source line of the light emitting device may be an analogsignal or a digital signal, so that a driving circuit or the like may beproperly designed based on the picture signal.

Instead of the carbon-based thin film in each aspect of the presentinvention described above, a conductive thin film made of an organicmaterial or an inorganic material-containing conductive thin film madeof an organic material. The typical conductive thin film made of theorganic material may be one prepared by applying apoly(ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) solution (PEDOT/PSS)on the whole surface followed by baking.

Furthermore, a fifth aspect of the present invention is a light emittingdevice comprising a plurality of light emitting elements on a substratehaving an insulating layer, wherein each of the light emitting elementscomprises: a first electrode; a first layer containing an organiccompound provided in contact with the top of the first electrode; afirst conductive thin film made of an organic material; a second layercomprising an organic compound on the first conductive thin film; asecond conductive thin film made of an organic material; a third layercomprising an organic compound; a third conductive thin film made of anorganic material; a fourth layer comprising an organic compound on thethird conductive thin film; a fifth layer comprising an organic compoundon the fourth layer; and a second electrode provided in contact with thefifth layer.

Furthermore, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, theconductive thin film made of the organic material is apoly(ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-B are diagrams for illustrating the configuration of a lightemitting device as a first embodiment of the present invention, whereFIG. 1A is a schematic cross sectional view for illustrating theconfiguration of the light emitting element and FIG. 1B is schematicview for illustrating an energy gap structure of the light emittingelement;

FIGS. 2A-B are diagrams for illustrating the configuration of a lightemitting device as a second embodiment of the present invention, whereFIG. 2A is a schematic cross sectional view for illustrating theconfiguration of the light emitting element and FIG. 2B is schematicview for illustrating an energy gap structure of the light emittingelement;

FIGS. 3A-B are diagrams for illustrating the configuration of a lightemitting device as a third embodiment of the present invention, whereFIG. 3A is a schematic cross sectional view for illustrating theconfiguration of the light emitting element and FIG. 3B is schematicview for illustrating an energy gap structure of the light emittingelement;

FIGS. 4A-B are diagrams for illustrating the configuration of a lightemitting device in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, where FIG. 3B is schematic view for illustrating an energygap structure of the light emitting element and FIG. 3A is a schematiccross sectional view for illustrating the configuration of the lightemitting element;

FIGS. 5A-C are schematic diagrams for illustrating the case ofirradiating light in full color using white illumination in the lightemitting element of the first embodiment, where FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5Cshow different methods for changing colors, respectively;

FIGS. 6A-B are diagrams for illustrating the configuration of the lightemitting element of the first embodiment, where FIG. 6A is a top viewand FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view along the line A-A′ in FIG. 6A;

FIGS. 7A-C are is diagrams for illustrating a pixel portion of the lightemitting element of the first embodiment, where FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B arecross sectional views, and FIG. 7C is an extended cross sectional viewof the EL layer;

FIGS. 8A-F are diagrams for illustrating various kinds of electronicdevices on which the present invention is applicable, where FIGS. 8A to8F schematically show different electronic devices, respectively; and

FIGS. 9A-C are diagrams for illustrating various kinds of electronicdevices on which the present invention is applicable, where FIGS. 9A to9C schematically show different electronic devices, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, we will describe preferred embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the attached drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1A shows a light emitting element as one of preferred embodimentsof the present invention. FIG. 1B shows a schematic illustration of anenergy gap structure corresponding to FIG. 1A. However, FIG. 1B is onlyprovided for exemplification, so that the configuration of the energygap structure is not particularly limited to one shown in FIG. 1B.

The laminate structure shown in FIG. 1A is prepared by laminating a holetransfer layer 11, a DLC film 13 a, a light emitting layer 12 a, a DLCfilm 13 b, a light emitting layer 12 b, a DLC film 13 c, a lightemitting layer 12 c, an electron transfer layer 14, and a negativeelectrode 15 or an anode 10 in that order. In this case, each of the DLCfilms 13 a-13 c is provided among the adjacent light emitting layers12aa-12 c or between the light emitting layer 12 a and the hole transferlayer 11, so that the concentration of electric field can be preventedand also short-circuit between an anode 10 and a cathode 15 can beprevented. In addition, even though the film has an uneven filmthickness, the generation of heat to be caused by the localconcentration of the electric field can be prevented by providing theDLC films 13 a-13 c, so that the film can be prevented fromdeterioration to improve the reliability of the resulting product.

The above DLC films 13 a-13 c have effects of blocking the layers 12 a,12 b containing organic compounds from above and below against oxygenand water.

In addition, the materials and the film thicknesses of these layers tobe sandwiched between the cathode and the anode may be designed properlyto obtain red, green, and blue light emitting elements, respectively. Apair of electron and hole is injected into the light emitting layerssandwiched among the DLC films 13 a-13 c by the tunnel effect as shownin FIG. 1B to allow these layers to emit light.

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain while luminescence by properlyselecting the materials of the respective light emitting layers 12 a-12c and placing the layers 12 a-12 c on top of one another to mix thecolors of these layers 12 a-12 c.

For obtaining white luminescence, there are various kinds of methodsknown in the art. Here, we will describe a case of using a lightemitting layer made of a high polymer material, which can be formed bycoating. In this case, the doping of pigments into the high polymermaterial to be formed into the light emitting layer may be performed bythe conditioning of the solution. In other words, it can be attainedextremely easily, compared with an evaporation method that performs aco-deposition for doping a plurality of pigments.

More specifically, a poly(ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonicacid) aqueous solution (PEDOT/PSS) to be acted as a hole-injecting layer11 is applied on the whole surface of an anode 10 made of a metal (e.g.,Pt, Cr, W, Ni, Zn, Sn, or In) and having a large work function and isthen baked under vacuum heating, followed by the formation of the DLCfilm 13 a.

Next, a polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) solution doped with luminescence centerpigments (e.g., 1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene (TPB),4-didicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimetylamino-styryl)-4H-pyrane(DCM1), Nile Red, or coumarin 6) to be acted as a light emitting layer12 a is applied on the whole surface of the DLC film and is than bakedunder vacuum heating, followed by the formation of the DLC film 13 b.

Furthermore, using the same materials and procedures as those describedabove, the light emitting layer 12 b and the DCL film 13 c areadditionally formed and placed on top of each other, followed by formingthe light emitting layer 12 c made of the same material. When the DLCfilm is formed on an undesired area (e.g., a terminal portion), it canbe selectively removed by an oxygen plasma treatment.

Subsequently, the formation of an electron transport layer 14 isperformed. The electron transport layer 14 may be a metal complex havinga quinoline skeleton, a metal complex having a benzoquinoline skeletion,an oxadiazole derivative, a tridiazole derivative, or a phenanthrolinederivative.

Next, a cathode 15 is formed. The cathode 15 consists of a laminatestructure made up of: a thin film containing a laminate structure of ametal (e.g., Li, Mg, or Cs) having a small work function; and atransparent conductive film (made of an indium tin oxide (ITO) alloy, anindium zinc oxide alloy (In₂O₃—ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like) onthe thin film.

Furthermore, in the above example, the light emitting layer isconstructed of three layers as shown in FIG. 1A. Alternatively, it maybe constructed of two layers or a single layer.

Furthermore, the organic compound film and the DLC film being laminatedare formed between the anode and the cathode. A hole injected from theanode and an electron injected from the cathode are recombined togetherin the organic compound film, resulting in white luminescence.

A color filter may be arranged along the direction of emitting whiteluminescence from the above organic compound film. The color filter hasa pigmented layer (R) that absorbs luminescence except red luminescence,a pigmented layer (G) that absorbs luminescence except greenluminescence, and a pigmented layer (B) that absorbs luminescence exceptblue luminescence. Therefore, white luminescence from the light emittingelement can be separated into different colors, so that red, green, andblue luminescence can be obtained. In the case of an active matrix typelight emitting device, a thin-film transistor (TFT) is formed betweenthe substrate and the color filter.

Furthermore, the pigmented layers (R, G, B) may have a stripe pattern,which is a most simple pattern, or may be selected from a diagonalmosaic arrangement, a trigonal pattern, a RGBG four-pixel arrangement, aRGBW four-pixel arrangement, and so on.

The pigmented layers that form the color filter are prepared using colorresists formed of organic photosensitive material in which pigments aredispersed, respectively. By the way, the chromaticity coordinate of thewhite luminescence is (x,y)=(0.34, 0.35).

In this case, furthermore, even though the resulting luminescence coloris different, there is no need to form the organic compound films byindependently coating them every luminescence color because all of themare prepared from the organic compound film that represents whiteluminescence. In addition, a circular polarizing plate for preventing amirror reflection is not particularly required.

Next, we will describe a color changing medium (CCM) method which can berealized by combining a blue light emitting element having ablue-luminescent organic compound film and a fluorescent color-changinglayer with reference to FIG. 5B.

The CCM method performs a color change with each color-changing layer byexciting the fluorescent color-changing layer with blue luminescenceradiated from the blue light emitting element. Concretely, thecolor-changing layer performs the change from blue to red (B→R), thecolor-changing layer performs the change from blue to green (B→G), andthe color-changing layer performs the change from blue to blue (B→B)(the change from blue to blue may be omitted) to obtain red, green, andblue light emission, respectively. In the case of the CCM method, thestructure having TFT between the substrate and the color-changing layeris provided in an active matrix type light emitting layer.

In this case, also, there is no need to form the organic compound filmsby coating independently. In addition, a circular polarizing plate forpreventing a mirror reflection is not particularly required.

Furthermore, in the case of using the CCM method, the color-changinglayer is fluorescent, so that it can be excited by outside light,causing a decrease in contrast. Therefore, it is preferable to increasethe contrast by attaching a color filter or the like as shown in FIG.5C.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, a light emitting element having a laminate structurewhich different from the above embodiment 1 is illustrated in FIGS.2A-B. In addition, FIG. 2B shows a schematic illustration of an energygap structure corresponding to FIG. 2A. However, FIG. 2B is onlyprovided for exemplification, so that the configuration of the energygap structure is not particularly limited to one shown in FIG. 2B.

The laminated structure shown in FIG. 2A is prepared by laminating ahole transfer layer 21, a light emitting layer 22 a, a DLC film 23 a, alight emitting layer 22 b, a DLC film 23 b, a light emitting layer 22 c,a DLC film 23 c, an electron transport layer 24, and a cathode 25 on aanode 20 in that order. In this case, each of the DLC films 23 a-23 c isprovided among the adjacent light emitting layers 22 a-22 c or betweenthe light emitting layer 22 d and the electron transfer layer 23 c, sothat the concentration of electric field can be prevented and alsoshort-circuit between an anode 20 and a cathode 25 can be prevented. Inaddition, even though the film has an uneven film thickness, thegeneration of heat to be caused by the local concentration of theelectric field can be prevented by providing the DL films 23 a-23 c, sothat the film can be prevented from deterioration to improve thereliability of the resulting product.

In addition, the materials and the film thicknesses of these layers tobe sandwiched between the cathode and the anode may be designed properlyto obtain red, green, and blue light emitting elements. A pair ofelectron and hole is injected into the light emitting layers sandwichedamong the DLC films 23 a-23 c by the tunnel effect as shown in FIG. 2Bto allow these layers to emit light.

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain while luminescence by properlyselecting the materials of the respective light emitting layers 22 a-22c and placing the layers 22 a-22 c on top of one another to mix thecolors of these layers 22 a-22 c.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, a light emitting element having a laminate structurewhich different from the above embodiment 1 is illustrated in FIGS.3A-B. In addition, FIG. 3B shows a schematic illustration of an energygap structure corresponding to FIG. 3A. However, FIG. 3B is onlyprovided for exemplification, so that the configuration of the energygap structure is not particularly limited to one shown in FIG. 3B.

The laminated structure shown in FIG. 3A is prepared by laminating ahole transfer layer 31, a DLC film 33 a, a light emitting layer 32 a , aDLC film 33 b, a light emitting layer 32 b, a DLC film 33 c, a lightemitting layer 32 c, a DLC film 33 d, an electron transport layer 34,and a cathode 35 on an anode 30 in that order.

In this case, each of the DLC films 33 a-33 d is provided among theadjacent light emitting layers 32 a-32 c or between the light emittinglayer 32 a and the hole transfer layer 31 or between the light emittinglayer 32 c and the electron transfer layer 34, so that the concentrationof electric field can be prevented and also short-circuit between ananode 30 and a cathode 35 can be prevented. In addition, even though thefilm has an uneven film thickness, the generation of heat to be causedby the local concentration of the electric field can be prevented byproviding the DLC films 33 a-33 d, so that the film can be preventedfrom deterioration to improve the reliability of the resulting product.

In addition, the materials and the film thicknesses of these layers tobe sandwiched between the cathode and the anode may be designed properlyto obtain red, green, and blue light emitting elements, respectively. Apair of electron and hole is injected into the light emitting layerssandwiched among the DLC films 33 a-33 d by the tunnel effect as shownin FIG. 3B to allow these layers to emit light.

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain while luminescence by properlyselecting the materials of the respective light emitting layers 32 a-32c and placing the layers 32 a-32 c on top of one another to mix thecolors of these layers 32 a-32 c.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, a light emitting element having a laminate structurewhich different from the above embodiment 1 is illustrated in FIGS.4A-B. In addition, FIG. 4B shows a schematic illustration of an energygap structure corresponding to FIG. 4A. However, FIG. 4B is onlyprovided for exemplification, so that the configuration of the energygap structure is not particularly limited to one shown in FIG. 4B.

The laminated structure shown in FIG. 4A is prepared by laminating ahole transfer layer 41, a light emitting layer 42 a, a DLC film 43 a, alight emitting layer 42 b, a DLC film 43 b, a light emitting layer 42 c,an electron transport layer 44, and a cathode 45 on an anode 40 in thatorder.

In this case, each of the DLC films 43 a and 43 b is provided among theadjacent light emitting layers 42 a-42 c, so that the concentration ofelectric field can be prevented and also short-circuit between an anode40 and a cathode 45 can be prevented. In addition, even though the filmhas an uneven film thickness, the generation of heat to be caused by thelocal concentration of the electric field can be prevented by providingthe DLC films 43 a and 43 b, so that the film can be prevented fromdeterioration to improve the reliability of the resulting product.

In addition, the materials and the film thicknesses of these layers tobe sandwiched between the cathode and the anode may be designed properlyto obtain red, green, and blue light emitting elements, respectively. Apair of electron and hole is injected into the light emitting layerssandwiched between the DLC films 43 a, 43 b by the tunnel effect asshown in FIG. 4B to allow these layers to emit light.

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain while luminescence by properlyselecting the materials of the respective light emitting layers 42 a-42c and placing the layers 42 a-42 c on top of one another to mix thecolors of these layers 42 a-42 c.

Now, the above configuration of the present invention will be describedin detail with the following examples.

EXAMPLES Example 1

The present example is shown in FIGS. 7A-C, in which a TFT is formed ona substrate having an insulating surface, followed by forming a lightemitting element. In this example, furthermore, a cross sectionaldiagram of the TFT connected to the light emitting element in a pixelportion is shown.

At first, a primary insulating film 201 consisting of a laminated layerof insulating films such as a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitridefilm, or a silicon nitric oxide film is formed on a substrate 200 havingan insulating surface. In this example, the primary insulating film 201is of a two-layered structure. Alternatively, it may be provided as asingle layered film formed of the above insulating film or a laminatedstructure prepared by laminating two or more layers. A first layer ofthe primary insulating film 201 is prepared as a silicon nitric oxidefilm having a thickness of 10 to 200 nm (preferably 50 to 100 nm), whichis formed using a plasma CVD method and also using SiH₄, NH₃, and N₂O asreaction gases. Specifically, in this example, a silicon nitric oxidefilm having a film thickness of 50 nm (percentage composition: Si =32%,O=27%, N=24%, H=17%) is formed. Besides, a second layer of the primaryinsulating film is laminated and formed as a silicon nitric oxide filmhaving a thickness of 50 to 200 nm (preferably 100 to 150 nm), which isformed using a plasma CVD method and also using SiH₄ and N₂O as reactiongases. Specifically, in this example, a silicon nitric oxide film havinga film thickness of 100 nm (percentage composition: Si=32%, O=59%, N=7%,H=2%) is formed.

Subsequently, a semiconductor layer is formed on the primary film. Thesemiconductor layer is formed by patterning a crystalline semiconductorfilm into a desired shape. In this example, the crystallinesemiconductor film is obtained by forming a semiconductor film having anamorphous structure with well-known procedures (e.g., a sputteringmethod, a LPCVD method, or a plasma CVD method), followed by subjectingto a well-known processing for crystallization (e.g., a lasercrystallization method, a thermal crystallization method, or a thermalcrystallization method using a catalyst such as nickel). Thesemiconductor layer is formed so as to be 25 to 80 nm (preferably 30 to60 nm) in thickness. The crystalline semiconductor film may bepreferably prepared using a material, but not limited to, such assilicon or silicon-germanium alloy.

Furthermore, in the case of preparing a crystalline semiconductor filmusing a laser crystallization method, a pulse-oscillating or continuousluminescence type excimer laser, a YAG laser, or a YVO₄ laser can beused. In the case of using one of these lasers, it is preferable to usea method by which a laser beam radiated from a laser oscillator islinearly focused in an optical system to irradiate the beam on thesemiconductor film. The conditions of crystallization may be properlyselected by the operator. When the excimer laser is used, the conditionsmay include a pulse oscillation frequency of 30 Hz and a laser energydensity of 100 to 400 mJ/cm² (typically 200 to 300 mJ/cm²). When the YAGlaser is used, alternatively, the conditions may include a pulseoscillation frequency of 1 to 10 kHz using a second harmonic and anlaser energy density of 300 to 600 mJ/cm² (typically 350 to 500 mJ/cm²).Besides, the laser beam linearly focused at width of 100 to 1000 μm, forexample, 400 μm is irradiated over the whole surface of the substrate,while an overlap ratio of the linear laser beam at this time is 80 to98%.

Subsequently, the surface of the semiconductor layer is washed with anetchant containing hydrofluoric acid to form a gate insulating film 202that covers the semiconductor layer. The gate insulating film 202 isformed of a silicon-containing insulating film having a thickness of 40to 150 nm using a plasma CVD method or a sputtering method. In thisexample, the gate insulating film 202 is formed of a silicon nitricoxide film (percentage composition: Si=32%, O=59%, N=7%, and H=2%) by aplasma CVD method. Here, the gate insulating film is not limited to thesilicon nitric oxide film. Alternatively, other silicon-containinginsulating film may be used as a single layer or a laminated structureof two or more layers.

After that, the surface of the gate insulating film 202 is washed,followed by forming a gate electrode 210.

Furthermore, a source region 211 and a drain region 212 are formed by anappropriate addition of an impurity element (e.g., Boron) for providingthe semiconductor with P type. In this example, boron is properly added.After the addition, for activating the impurity element, heatingtreatment, strong light irradiation, or laser beam irradiation isperformed. In addition, simultaneously with the activation, it ispossible to recover the gate insulating film from plasma-caused damagesand to recover the boundary between the gate insulating film and thesemiconductor layer from plasma-caused damages. In particular, underatmospheric conditions of room temperature to 300° C., it is veryeffective to activate the impurity element by irradiating a secondharmonic beam of YAG laser from the surface or back face. It is apreferable activating means because only a small amount of maintenanceis required for the YAG laser.

In the following steps, an interlayer insulating film 213 a made of anorganic material or an inorganic material is formed, and afterhydrogenation, a first protective film 213 b is formed. The firstprotective film 213 b may be formed of an aluminum nitride film, analuminum nitric oxide film represented by AlN_(X)O_(Y), or a siliconnitride film. Here, the film represented by AlN_(X)O_(Y) may be formedby a RF sputtering method using a target made of AlN or Al such thatoxygen or nitrogen, or rare gas is introduced from the abovegas-introducing system. In the film represented by AlN_(X)O_(Y), thecontent of nitrogen may be in the range of several atm% or more,preferably in the range of 2.5 atm % to 47.5 atm %, and the content ofoxygen may be in the range of 47.5 atm % or less, preferably 0.01 ormore but less than 20 atm %. Besides, a contact hole extending to thesource or drain region is formed, followed by completing TFT (p-channeltype TFT) with the formation of a source electrode (wiring) 215 and adrain electrode 214. This TFT controls the current to be supplied to anorganic light emitting device (OLED).

Subsequently, in the pixel portion, a first electrode 217 in contactwith a connecting electrode in contact with the drain region is arrangedin matrix shape. This first electrode 217 serves as an anode or acathode of the light emitting element. Then, a insulator (generallyreferred to as a bank, a partition, a barrier, a mound, or the like) 216that covers the end portion of the first electrode 217 is formed. Forthe insulator 216, a photosensitive organic resin is used. In the caseof using a negative type photosensitive acrylic resin is used as amaterial of the insulator 216, for example, the insulator 216 may bepreferably prepared such that the upper end portion of the insulator 216has a curved surface having a first curvature radius and the lower endportion of the insulator has a curved surface having a second curvatureradius. Each of the first and second curvature radiuses may bepreferably in the range of 0.2 μm to 3 μm.

Furthermore, a layer 218 containing an organic compound is formed on thepixel portion, and a second electrode 219 is then formed thereon tocomplete a light emitting element. This second electrode 219 serves as acathode or an anode of the light emitting element.

The insulator 216 that covers the end portion of the first electrode 217may be covered with a second protective film formed of an aluminumnitride film, an aluminum nitric oxide film, or a silicon nitride film.

For instance, as shown in FIG. 7B, in the case of using a positive typephotosensitive acrylic resin as a material of the insulator 316 b, onlythe upper end of the insulator 316 b, has a curved surface having acurvature radius. In this case, furthermore, the insulator 316 b, iscovered with a protective film 317 a formed of an aluminum nitride film,an aluminum nitric oxide film, or a silicon nitride film.

In the present example, furthermore, a carbon-based thin film isprovided between the light emitting layers in the layer 218 containingan organic compound. The configuration of such a structure isrepresented as an enlarged view in FIG. 7C.

Depending on the direction of irradiating light, it is considered thatthere are two different structures of the active matrix type lightemitting device having TFT. One of them is a structure by which lightemitted from the light emitting element is irradiated into the eyes ofthe observer after passing through the second electrode. In this case,the observer is allowed to recognize an image on the second electrodeside. The other of them is a structure by which light emitted from thelight emitting element is irradiated into the eyes of the observer afterpassing through the first electrode and the substrate.

For applying the structure by which light emitted from the lightemitting element is irradiated into the eyes of the observer afterpassing through the second electrode, it is preferable to use a materialhaving a translucency as a material of the second electrode 219.

For instance, when the first electrode 217 is used as an anode, thematerial of the first electrode 217 may be a metal (i.e., Pt, Cr, W, Ni,Zn, Sn, or In) having a large work function. The end portion of such anelectrode 217 is covered with the insulator (generally referred to as abank, a partition, a barrier, a mound, or the like) 216, and then asolution of poly (ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly (styrenesulfonate) isapplied on the whole surface, followed by baking.

Subsequently, a DLC film is formed as a carbon-based thin film. The DLCfilm having a film thickness of 3 to 50 nm is prepared using a plasmaCVD method (typically, a RF plasma CVD method, a microwave CVD method,an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) CVD method, a hot-filament CVDmethod, or the like), a helicon wave plasma method, a combustion method,a sputtering method, an ion beam deposition method, a laser depositionmethod, or the like. In addition, it is important to prevent the filmcontaining an organic compound from being damaged at the time of filmformation.

Next, a polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) solution doped with luminescence centerpigments (e.g., 1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene (TPB),4-didicyanomethylene-2-methyl -6-(p-dimetylamino-styryl)-4H-pyrane(DCM1), Nile Red, or coumarin 6) to be acted as a light emitting layeris applied on the whole surface of the DLC film, followed by baking.

Subsequently, the DLC film is formed.

Furthermore, the same light emitting layer as one described above isalso formed and baked, followed by forming a second electrode 219 as acathode. The second electrode 219 comprises a laminate structure of ametal (e.g., Li, Mg, or Cs) having a small work function; and atransparent conductive film (made of an indium tin oxide (ITO) alloy, anindium zinc oxide alloy (In₂O₃—ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like) onthe thin film. For attaining a low-resistance cathode, an auxiliaryelectrode may be provided on the insulator 216. The light emittingelement thus obtained emits white luminescence. In addition, the DLCfilm is formed between the light emitting layers, so that there is noneed to resolve at the time of applying PVK thereon. Here, the examplein which the layer 218 containing the organic compound is formed by theapplication has been described. According to the present invention,however, it is not limited to a specific method and the layer 218 may beformed using a deposition method.

Furthermore, the example described above is of laminating organiccompound layers. Alternatively, the organic compound layer may beprovided as a single layer in stead of the laminate. For instance,electron-transferable 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivative (PBD) may be dispersedin hole-transferable polyvinyl carbazole (PVK). In addition, 30 wt % ofPBD may be dispersed as an electron transferring agent, and alsoappropriate amounts of four pigments (TPB, coumarin 6, DCM 1, and NileRed) may be dispersed to obtain white luminescence. Furthermore, a layermade of a high polymer material may be provided as an organic compoundlayer and laminated together with a layer made of a low molecularmaterial.

Furthermore, in the case of using the structure by which light emittedfrom the light emitting element is irradiated into the eyes of theobserver after passing through the first electrode, it is preferablethat the first electrode 217 may be prepared using a material having atranslucency.

For instance, when the first electrode 217 is provided as an anode, atransparent conductive film (made of an indium tin oxide (ITO) alloy, anindium zinc oxide alloy (In₂O₃—ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like) isused for a material of the first electrode 217 and the end portionthereof is covered with the insulator (generally referred to as a bank,a partition, a barrier, a mound, or the like) 216, followed by formingthe layer 218 containing an organic compound. On this layer,furthermore, a second electrode 219 formed of a metal film (i.e., analloy of MgAg, MgIn, AlLi, CaF₂, CaN, or the like, or a film formed by aco-deposition of an element of Group I and Group II in the periodictable and aluminum) is formed as a cathode. Here, a resistive heatingmethod using deposition is used for the formation of a cathode, so thatthe cathode can be selectively formed using a deposition mask.

After forming the second electrode 219 and so on by the steps describedabove, a sealing substrate 118 is laminated using a sealing agent 119 toseal the light emitting element formed on the substrate 200. For keepinga clearance between the sealing substrate 118 and the light emittingelement, a spacer made of a resin film may be placed. In addition, thespace on the inner side of the sealing agent 119 is filled with an inertgas such as nitrogen. Preferably, the sealing agent 119 may be an epoxyresin. Preferably, furthermore, the sealing agent 119 may be a materialwhich has impermeable properties to oxygen and water as far as possible.In addition, an additional substance (e.g., a drying agent) havingabilities of absorbing oxygen and water into the space may be contained.

Furthermore, as a constitutional material of the sealing substrate 118,in addition to a glass substrate or a quartz substrate, a plasticsubstrate made of a material such as fiberglass-reinforced plastics(FRP), polyvinylchloride (PVF), mylar, polyester, or acryl may be used.Furthermore, after adhering the sealing substrate 118 using the sealingagent 119, it is also possible to seal with the sealing agent so as tocover the side face (the exposed surface).

As described above, by sealing the light emitting element within thespace described above, the light emitting element can be completely cutoff from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to prevent thepenetration of any substance such as water or oxygen that facilitatesthe deterioration of the organic compound layer from the outside.Consequently, the light emitting device having a high reliability can beobtained.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A-B, the entire configuration of the EL moduleand the arrangement of a drying agent will be described.

On a substrate having uncountable TFTs formed thereon (also referred toas a TFT substrate), there are a pixel portion 140 on which an image canbe displayed, driving circuits 141 a, 141 b for driving each pixel inthe pixel portion 140, a connecting portion for making a connectionbetween leads and electrodes formed on the EL layer, terminals 142 onwhich FPC is laminated for making a connection with an external circuit,and a drying agent 144. In FIG. 6A, the drying agent 144 is arrangedsuch that it overlaps part of the driving circuits 141 a, 141 b.Alternatively, the drying agent 144 may overlap the whole part of thedriving circuits 141 a, 141 b. In addition, it can be hermeticallysealed with the substrate for sealing the EL element and the sealingagent 119. Furthermore, FIG. 6B is a cross sectional diagram along thechained line A-A′ in FIG. 6A. In FIG. 6B, a package 120 is also shown inthe drawing.

Uncountable pixels are regularly arranged in the pixel portion 140 andthey are arranged in the X direction in the order of R, G, and B (notshown).

In FIG. 6B, furthermore, the sealing substrate 118 is laminated with thesealing agent 119 to keep a clearance of about 2 to 30 μm as shown inFIG. 6B, so that all of the light emitting elements are enclosed in thespace. Recessed portions are formed in the sealing substrate 118 by asand blast method so that the drying agents are placed in these recessedportions. Preferably, the sealing agent 119 may have a narrowed edge soas to be overlapped with a part of the driving circuit. Just beforelaminating the sealing substrate 118 with the sealing agent 119, it ispreferable to deaerate by annealing in a vacuum. Furthermore, at thetime of laminating the sealing substrate 118, it is preferable tolaminate in an atmosphere including an inert gas (rare gas or nitrogen).

The present example may be freely combined with one of Embodiments 1 to3.

Example 2

By implementing the present invention, all of electronic equipment intowhich modules having an OLED (such as an active matrix EL module) arebuilt can be completed.

Following can be given as such electronic equipment: video cameras;digital cameras; head mounted displays (goggle type displays); carnavigation systems; projectors; car stereos; personal computers;electronic game machines; portable information terminals (mobilecomputers, mobile phones or electronic books etc.) etc. Examples ofthese are shown in FIGS. 8A to 8F and 9A to 9C.

FIG. 8A is a personal computer which comprises: a main body 2001; animage input section 2002; a display section 2003; and a keyboard 2004etc.

FIG. 8B is a video camera which comprises: a main body 2101; a displaysection 2102; a voice input section 2103; operation switches 2104; abattery 2105 and an image receiving section 2106 etc.

FIG. 8C is a mobile computer which comprises: a main body 2201; a camerasection 2202; an image receiving section 2203; operation switches 2204and a display section 2205 etc.

FIG. 8D is a goggle type display which comprises: a main body 2301; adisplay section 2302; and an arm section 2303 etc.

FIG. 8E is a player using a recording medium in which a program isrecorded (hereinafter referred to as a recording medium) whichcomprises: a main body 2401; a display section 2402; a speaker section2403; a recording medium 2404; and operation switches 2405 etc. Thisapparatus uses DVD (digital versatile disc), CD, etc. for the recordingmedium, and can perform music appreciation, film appreciation, games anduse for Internet.

FIG. 8F is a digital camera which comprises: a main body 2501; a displaysection 2502; a view finder 2503; operation switches 2504; and an imagereceiving section (not shown in the figure) etc.

FIG. 9A is a mobile phone which comprises: a main body 2901; a voiceoutput section 2902; a voice input section 2903; a display section 2904;operation switches 2905; an antenna 2906; and an image input section(CCD, image sensor, etc.) 2907 etc.

FIG. 9B is a portable book (electronic book) which comprises: a mainbody 3001; display sections 3002 and 3003; a recording medium 3004;operation switches 3005 and an antenna 3006 etc.

FIG. 9C is a display which comprises: a main body 3101; a supportingsection 3102; and a display section 3103 etc.

In addition, the display shown in FIG. 9C has small and medium-sized orlarge-sized screen, for example a size of 5 to 20 inches. Further, tomanufacture the display part with such sizes, it is preferable tomass-produce by gang printing by using a substrate with one meter on aside.

As described above, the applicable range of the present invention isextremely large, and the invention can be applied to electronicequipment of various areas. Note that the electronic devices of thisexample can be achieved by utilizing any combination of constitutions inEmbodiments 1 to 4, and Example 1.

According to the present invention, the light emitting element having anorganic compound is capable of effectively removing or decreasing heat,so that the light emitting element can be prevented from thermaldeterioration to increase the reliability.

1. A light emitting device comprising: a first electrode; a first lightemitting layer formed over the first electrode; a first barrier layerformed over the first light emitting layer; a second light emittinglayer formed over the first barrier layer; a second barrier layer formedover the second light emitting layer; a third light emitting layerformed over the second barrier layer; and a second electrode formed overthe third light emitting layer, wherein the first barrier layer is aninsulating film, wherein the first barrier layer is in contact with thefirst light emitting layer and the second light emitting layer, whereinthe second barrier layer is in contact with the second light emittinglayer and the third light emitting layer, and wherein the firstelectrode and the second electrode are arranged such that an electronpasses through the first barrier layer by applying a voltage between thefirst electrode and the second electrode.
 2. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second barrier layer is an insulatingfilm, and wherein the first electrode and the second electrode arearranged such that a hole passes through the second barrier layer byapplying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode,and wherein the electron and the hole are converted to photon.
 3. Alight emitting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the firstand second barrier layers is a potential barrier.
 4. A light emittingdevice according to claim 1, further comprising a third barrier layerformed between the third light emitting layer and the second electrode.5. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising athird barrier layer formed between the first light emitting layer andthe first electrode.
 6. A light emitting device according to claim 1,wherein the light emitting device is a passive matrixelectroluminescence display device.
 7. A light emitting device accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the first, second, third light emittinglayers includes an organic material.
 8. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second barrierlayers is either transparent or translucent to visible light.
 9. Anelectronic device having the light emitting device according to claim 1,wherein said electronic device is selected from the group consisting ofa video camera, a digital camera, a goggles-type display, a carnavigation system, a personal computer, a DVD player, an electronic gamemachine, or a portable information terminal.
 10. A light emitting devicecomprising: a first electrode; a hole transfer layer formed over thefirst electrode; a plurality of laminated light emitting layers formedover the hole transfer layer; an electron transport layer formed overthe light emitting layers; and a second electrode formed over theelectron transport layer, wherein energy barriers exist between theelectron transport layer and the hole transfer layer and between thelight emitting layers such that the light emitting layers do not contacteach other, and wherein each of the energy barriers is an insulatingfilm.
 11. A light emitting device according to claim 10, wherein anelectron injected from the second electrode and a hole injected from thefirst electrode are converted to photon between the energy barriers. 12.A light emitting device according to claim 10, wherein each of theenergy barriers is a barrier film, and wherein the barrier film protectseach of the light emitting layers by preventing their materials frombeing mixed together under the generation of heat at the time ofactuating the light emitting device.
 13. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the light emitting device is a passivematrix electroluminescence display device.
 14. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein each of the light emitting layersincludes an organic material.
 15. An electronic device having the lightemitting device according to claim 10, wherein said electronic device isselected from the group consisting of a video camera, a digital camera,a goggles-type display, a car navigation system, a personal computer, aDVD player, an electronic game machine, or a portable informationterminal.
 16. A light emitting device comprising: a first electrode; ahole transfer layer formed over the first electrode; a first barrierlayer formed over the hole transfer layer; light emitting layers formedover the first barrier layer; a second barrier layer formed over thelight emitting layers; an electron transport layer formed over thesecond barrier layer; and a second electrode formed over the electrontransport layer, wherein the first barrier layer is an insulating film,and is in contact with the hole transfer layer and at least one of thelight emitting layers, wherein the second barrier layer is an insulatingfilm, and is in contact with at least one of the light emitting layersand the electron transport layer, wherein the first electrode and thesecond electrode are arranged such that an electron passes through thefirst barrier layer by applying a voltage between the first electrodeand the second electrode, and wherein the second barrier layer isblocking the electron passed through the first barrier layer.
 17. Alight emitting device according to claim 16, wherein the first electrodeand the second electrode are arranged such that a hole passes throughthe second barrier layer by applying a voltage between the firstelectrode and the second electrode, and wherein the first barrier layeris blocking the hole passed through the first barrier layer.
 18. A lightemitting device according to claim 16, wherein the light emitting deviceis a passive matrix electroluminescence display device.
 19. A lightemitting device according to claim 16, wherein each of the lightemitting layers includes an organic material.
 20. An electronic devicehaving the light emitting device according to claim 16, wherein saidelectronic device is selected from the group consisting of a videocamera, a digital camera, a goggles-type display, a car navigationsystem, a personal computer, a DVD player, an electronic game machine,or a portable information terminal.
 21. A light emitting deviceincluding a light emitting element and a thin film transistorelectrically connected the light emitting element, wherein the lightemitting element comprises: a first electrode; a first light emittinglayer formed over the first electrode; a first barrier layer formed overthe first light emitting layer; a second light emitting layer formedover the first barrier layer; a second barrier layer formed over thesecond light emitting layer; a third light emitting layer formed overthe second barrier layer; and a second electrode formed over the thirdlight emitting layer, wherein the first barrier layer is an insulatingfilm, wherein the first barrier layer is in contact with the first lightemitting layer and the second light emitting layer, wherein the secondbarrier layer is in contact with the second light emitting layer and thethird light emitting layer, and wherein the first electrode and thesecond electrode are arranged such that an electron passes through thefirst barrier layer by applying a voltage between the first electrodeand the second electrode.
 22. A light emitting device according to claim21, wherein the second barrier layer is an insulating film, and whereinthe first electrode and the second electrode are arranged such that ahole passes through the second barrier layer by applying a voltagebetween the first electrode and the second electrode, and wherein theelectron and the hole are converted to photon.
 23. A light emittingdevice according to claim 21, wherein each of the first and secondbarrier layers is a potential barrier.
 24. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 21, further comprising a third barrier layer formedbetween the third light emitting layer and the second electrode.
 25. Alight emitting device according to claim 21, further comprising a thirdbarrier layer formed between the first light emitting layer and thefirst electrode.
 26. A light emitting device according to claim 21,wherein each of the first, second, third light emitting layers includesan organic material.
 27. A light emitting device according to claim 21,wherein each of the first and second barrier layers is eithertransparent or translucent to visible light.
 28. An electronic devicehaving the light emitting device according to claim 21, wherein saidelectronic device is selected from the group consisting of a videocamera, a digital camera, a goggles-type display, a car navigationsystem, a personal computer, a DVD player, an electronic game machine,or a portable information terminal.
 29. A light emitting deviceincluding a light emitting element and a thin film transistorelectrically connected the light emitting element, wherein the lightemitting element comprises: a first electrode; a hole transfer layerformed over the first electrode; a plurality of laminated light emittinglayers formed over the hole transfer layer; an electron transport layerformed over the light emitting layers; and a second electrode formedover the electron transport layer, wherein energy barriers exist betweenthe electron transport layer and the hole transfer layer and between thelight emitting layers such that the light emitting layers do not contacteach other, and wherein each of the energy barriers is an insulatingfilm.
 30. A light emitting device according to claim 29, wherein anelectron injected from the second electrode and a hole injected from thefirst electrode are converted to photon between the energy barriers. 31.A light emitting device according to claim 29, wherein each of theenergy barriers is a barrier film, and wherein the barrier film protectseach of the light emitting layers by preventing their materials frombeing mixed together under the generation of heat at the time ofactuating the light emitting device.
 32. A light emitting deviceaccording to claim 29, wherein each of the light emitting layersincludes an organic material.
 33. An electronic device having the lightemitting device according to claim 29, wherein said electronic device isselected from the group consisting of a video camera, a digital camera,a goggles-type display, a car navigation system, a personal computer, aDVD player, an electronic game machine, or a portable informationterminal.
 34. A light emitting device including a light emitting elementand a thin film transistor electrically connected the light emittingelement, wherein the light emitting element comprises: a firstelectrode; a hole transfer layer formed over the first electrode; afirst barrier layer formed over the hole transfer layer; light emittinglayers formed over the first barrier layer; a second barrier layerformed over the light emitting layers; an electron transport layerformed over the second barrier layer; and a second electrode formed overthe electron transport layer, wherein the first barrier layer is aninsulating film, and is in contact with the hole transfer layer and atleast one of the light emitting layers, wherein the second barrier layeris an insulating film, and is in contact with at least one of the lightemitting layers and the electron transport layer, wherein the firstelectrode and the second electrode are arranged such that an electronpasses through the first barrier layer by applying a voltage between thefirst electrode and the second electrode, and wherein the second barrierlayer is blocking the electron passed through the first barrier layer.35. A light emitting device according to claim 34, wherein the firstelectrode and the second electrode are arranged such that a hole passesthrough the second barrier layer by applying a voltage between the firstelectrode and the second electrode, and wherein the first barrier layeris blocking the hole passed through the first barrier layer.
 36. A lightemitting device according to claim 34, wherein each of the lightemitting layers includes an organic material.
 37. An electronic devicehaving the light emitting device according to claim 34, wherein saidelectronic device is selected from the group consisting of a videocamera, a digital camera, a goggles-type display, a car navigationsystem, a personal computer, a DVD player, an electronic game machine,or a portable information terminal.